Good Hope Plantation papers, 1864-1867 (bulk 1865).

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Good Hope Plantation papers, 1864-1867 (bulk 1865).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122418476

The papers focus largely on the operation and management of Good Hope and Hermitage cotton plantations in Concordia Parish, Louisiana. Difficulties in securing supplies and laborers are evident in George Gillson Klapp and James D. Waters' correspondence and legal documents, as is the role of the Natchez District Freedmen's Bureau. Some of the problems mentioned by Klapp and Waters include the shortage of adult men for hire, the theft of cotton (among laborers) and other property, transportation of supplies and people across the Mississippi, and the risk of high water episodes causing levee crevasses and flooding. The correspondence also includes a printed advertisement and a newspaper clipping. Legal papers consist of a plantation lease agreement, mule loans, an arms permit, "Permission to Transport" papers, labor agreements with freedmen, and informal legal documents indicating punishments received by freedmen for stealing cotton and other items. The latter documents were created by the "High Court of Pains & Penalties" (a plantation court), with Judge Clifford Waters presiding. Papers submitted to the Freedmen's Bureau in Natchez list the names, ages, and work performance/status of freedmen (including women and children) living and working at Tyconia and Good Hope plantations. Financial papers include promissory notes; receipts for goods, services, and taxes; and accounts of merchandise purchased by laborers. The labor payrolls list names, pay rates, amount of cotton picked, rations and wages received, fines paid, and more. Also included are inventories of real and personal property at Good Hope Plantation.

0.5 linear ft. (100 items)

Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6709610

Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries

Related Entities

There are 3 Entities related to this resource.

Waters, James Devereux, 1832-1892

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mw2nkm (person)

Klapp, George Gillson.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66d7qp4 (person)

United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dv5fmh (corporateBody)

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. federal government agency that aided distressed freedmen (freed slaves) in 1865–1869, during the Reconstruction era of the United States. The Freedmen's Bureau Bill, which created the Freedmen's Bureau, was initiated by President Abraham Lincoln and was intended to last for one year after the end of the Civil War. It was passed on March 3, 1865, by Congress to aid former slaves ...